Valve operating means



W. O. STANTON VALVE OPERATING MEANS July 31, 1945.

Filed Nov. 10, 1942 FIGJ.

QMLEF INVENTOR.

WA LTER O. STANTON BY v v @maw p wyvw ATTORNEYS Patented July 31, 1945 VALVE OPERATING MEANS Walter 0. Stanton, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Oscar E. Rosen, Detroit, Mich.

Application November 10, 1942, Serial No. 465,107

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in valve actuating means such as described and claimed in application for patent on Electric valve actuator, Serial No. 317,367, filed February 5. 1940, now Patent No. 2,304,477, issued December 8, 1942, in the name of Oscar E. Rosen, and has among its objects a simplification of construction and adjustment.

Another object is to improve the magnetic efliciency by the use of a construction which allows closer fit for the moving parts and therefore smaller clearances.

Another object is means for overcoming the effect of residual magnetism, hysteresis, eddy currents, etc.

Another object is a construction which, while enclosed to prevent easy access to the working parts, is easily adjustable from the outside.

Still another object is a construction which, after adjustment, will remain in adjusted condition under vibration and other adjustment disturbing factors.

Other objects will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on line l-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a similar view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of one of the adjusting screws.

Figure 4 shows a detail of the preferred construction..

Figure 5 shows a modified form of the construction of Figure 4.

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,138,208,

for a Duplicating machine, issued November 29, 1938, to Oscar E. Rosen, there is described a machine tool, the automatic control of which is accomplished by a two-way hydraulic valve, in turn controlled by a tracer moving in contact with a suitable pattern.

The tracer finger, when moved by the pattern, makes and breaks suitable electric circuits through a pair of solenoids, the movable cores of which are connected to the two-way valve in such fashion that alternate energization of the solenoids moves the valve to its two open positions.

.The application above referred to describes and claims in detail the solenoids and coacting struc ture.

In the present device the functions of the several corresponding parts are the same as in the said application.

Referring now to the drawing in the present case, the valve 40 is similar, except in minor details, to the valve shown in the previous cases and consists of a body, provided with suitable ports (not shown) controlled by the vertical movement of a valve plunger ll pivotally connected to a lever 12. The lever I2 is pivoted at l3 on suitable ears on the valve body.

To each end of lever I2 is secured a link l5 extending upward, through an opening IS in the supporting structure IT, to connect with a movable core 20 projecting through and slidable in the bottom wall 2| of the solenoid housing, designated as a whole by the numeral 25.

The back wall and end walls of the box are extended downwardly to provide a support for the box and housing for certain of the mechanism and the bay 3i thus formed is preferably enclosed by a suitable plate 32, preferably transparent.

Within the box is described are placed two solenoid coils 35 having their lead wires (not shown) extending out through the passages 28 to the connector block 29, a suitable plug 29A, connected to a source of supply and the tracer being shown as coacting therewith to supply the solenoids.

Each solenoid 35 is provided with a core 36 carried by the cover 26 and arranged to project into the solenoid and to a point near the lower end thereof.

As stated, each solenoid also coacts with a movable core 20 and the latter project up through the bottom of the box in axial alignment with the stationary cores 3G, and due to the solid metal construction of the parts, the cores 20 and the openings in wall 2| in which they move may be made with a much closer fit than is practicable or even possible with a laminated construction. This means a greater magnetic efiiciency, since there is a much smaller gap to be jumped by the magnetic flux. In the bay 3| and pivotally mounted upon a boss 40 projecting forwardly from th rear wall thereof, is a rocker arm II which is provided on its upper face with a pair of cross ribs 42 near the center thereof but spaced equally on each side of the center.

As shown in the structure of the above application, this rocker arm II is carried on a screw stud 43 extending into the boss 40, the stud passing through the rocker arm and through a plug 44 set vertically in the arm and provided in its upperend with a screw stud 45.

Upon the ribs 42 and held by suitable nuts on stud 45 is a leaf spring 46 which extends under the movable cores 2D and tends to lift them. These parts, that is, the spring, the stud 45 and nuts, and the cores 20 are so proportioned and arranged that, when the spring is under considerable tension, due to tightening of these nuts and the fact that the ends of the springs are under the cores 20, the rocker arm 4| is substantially level and the cores 20 substantially evenly spaced a short distance from the stationary cores 36. When this condition exists, the position of the valve plunger II is central and both of its ports closed.

However, means must be provided to adjust the parts to valve-neutral position in cas of variance of the parts or in case of wear. For this purpose, ends of the rocker arm 4| are provided with angularly arranged faces A and the end walls of bay 3| provided with bosses 50, internally threaded to receive screws 5| having lightly rounded inner ends adapted to coact with the faces MA on the rocker arm and fix the latter in position.

Further, in order to render difficult if not impossible any unauthorized tampering with this adjustment, and in order to eliminate the necessity for lock nuts or the like, it is preferred to use a new form of screw 5| which looks itself and requires the use of a special tool to turn it.

The particular screw shown consists of a threaded cylindrical body having its lower end turned to a somewhat smalle diameter and sawed or otherwise slotted as at 52 while the upper end 53 is likewise turned to a smaller diameter. After the screw is thus formed, the slot 52 is opened a small amount so that, when in place, there is considerable outward pressure exerted, tendin to prevent movement. Further, since the end 53 is less in diameter than the body of the screw, an ordinary screw driver is useless in an attempt to move the screw, the result being only a further outward pressure.

In the structures of the before mentioned application and patent, and in the present device, on of the essential characteristics of operation is the rapid vibration of the valve H due to the alternate energization and deenergization of the two solenoids.

However, with a solid metal construction, in order to obtain such rapid vibration, means must be provided to overcome the effects of residual magnetism, hysteresis, eddy currents, etc., which would result in sealing the movable plunger or core to the stationary core.

Such means is shown at 60 in Figures 1 and 2 as a conical end on the core 20 and at A in Figure 4 as a similar shaped end on stationary core 36a. A similar effect may be obtained by setting in the end of one of the cores a button 603 of nonmagnetic metal such as brass.

The conical end of the core should have a quite small angle, of the order of 3 to 7 degrees, five being preferable.

Now having described the invention and the Preferred embodiment thereof, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. In a solenoid actuated valve operating means, in which a pair of solenoids enclosed in a housing are alternately energized to move said valve, and having movable cores coacting with said solenoids and with said valve and a rockable member supporting and initially positioning said cores, means for adjusting said rockable memb r comprising inclined surfaces at the ends thereof and adjusting screws extending through the end walls of said housing and inclined so as to be substantially normal to said surfaces, said screws being actuable from the outside of said housing.

2. In a solenoid actuated valve operating means, in which a pair of solenoids are enclosed in a housing and are alternately energized to move said valve, and having movable cores coasting with said solenoids and with said valve, a rockable member supporting and initially positioning said cores, means for adjusting said rockable member comprising inclined surfaces at the ends thereof, self-lockin adjusting screws extending through the end walls of said housing and inclined so as to be substantially normal to said surfaces, said screws being slotted to near their lower ends and having a relatively greater reduced diameter at their upper ends.

3. In a valve operating means including a pair of solenoids and movable cores connected to said valve, a housing enclosing said solenoids and cores, a rookable arm supporting and initially positioning said cores, and enclosed in said housing, adjusting screws extending in an inclined position through the walls of aid housing and contacting the ends of said arm, said walls being provided with internally threaded bosses deeper than the length of said screws whereby the outer ends of the latter are unexposed.

WALTER O. STANTON. 

